Burundi

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

’Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union’

Act No. 1/015 on the Exercise of Trade Union Rights and the Right to Strike in the Public Service requires public servants’ unions to register with the Civil Service Ministry in order to be recognised. No prior authorisation is required for private sector trade unions, but they must be registered under the Labour Code in order to have legal personality (Arts. 265 and 278, Labour Code).

Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required for the establishment of a union

All trade unions – i.e., both public and private sector – must have at least 50 members (Art. 270, Labour Code; section 8, Act No. 1/015 on the Exercise of Trade Union Rights and the Right to Strike in the Public Service).

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to establish branches, federation and confederation or to affiliate with national and international organisations

Public sector unions may only join federations or confederations of public servants. They may not join organisations representing private sector workers (section 21, Act No. 1/015).

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

Private sector workers may not be members of the administration and management of a trade union unless they (1) are aged at least 25 years; (2) are able to read and write; (3) have not incurred a prison sentence without private final suspension of freedom exceeding six months' imprisonment; and (4) have practiced in the relevant trade for at least one year (art. 275, Labour Code). Public sector workers are only eligible for election to the leadership team of a trade union if they have worked in the public sector for at least three years (section 10, Act No. 1/015). Section 7 of Act 1/015 further provides that, in the event of a leadership conflict, the Minister of the Public Service may refer the matter to the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court.

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations

Although article 289 of the Labour Code states that trade unions are not liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority, article 288 states that a trade union cannot survive if its membership drops below 50 members.

Other external interference allowed by law

Article 283 of the Labour Code obliges private sector trade unions to provide the Minister of Labour with all such information relating to the trade union's activities, as the Minister may require. The Labour Code does not establish any restrictions around the type of information the Minister may require or the frequency with which the information must be provided.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office

Others categories

Workers under the age of 18 years may not join a trade union without the express consent of their parents or guardians (Article 271, Labour Code).

Other civil servants and public employees

Article 14 of the Labour Code excludes state officials and judges from the scope of its protections. See further the other limitations on the right to freedom of association of public servants as established by Act No. 1/015, as set out above.

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents

Absence of criteria or discretionary, unclear or unreasonable criteria for determining representative organisations

The representative character of a trade union is determined by the Minister based on particular elements of: • organisational experience and seniority; • scope and nature of its business; • its workforce; • independence; • results in elections for representatives (Art. 15(l), Labour Code).

Possibility to by-pass representative trade unions and bargain directly with workers’ representatives

Article 224 of the Labour Code allows collective agreements to be made between one or more trade unions, professional groups of workers or the workers of an enterprise, on the one hand, and one or more employer organisations, groups of employers or individual employers, on the other. However, article 242 of the Labour Code provides that an enterprise-level collective agreement may only be made between one or more employers and staff representatives where there is no trade union.

Absence of recourse to an independent body responsible for declaring whether an organisation may negotiate or not

The Minister of Labour designates the most representative organisation by order (art. 15(l), Labour Code).

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Exclusion of certain matters from the scope of bargaining (e.g. wages, hours)

Bargaining on wages in the public sector is not permitted.

Compulsory conciliation conciliation An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.

See arbitration, mediation and / or binding arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, other than in essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework

Any employer involved in a collective labour dispute must immediately notify the labour inspector of the existence of the conflict (art. 192, Labour Code). If the parties are unable to resolve the matter through negotiations, the inspector shall refer the matter to conciliation and, failing settlement, to the Minister, who shall establish a tripartite arbitration board (arts. 193-199, Labour Code).

Authorities’ power to intervene in the preparation of collective agreements

Collective bargaining is to take place in a commission, which must be composed of an equal number of representatives of workers’ organisations and representatives of employers' organisations, and include also two representatives of the Minister of Labour, who shall be involved an advisory capacity (art. 227, Labour Code).

Authorities’ or employers’ power to unilaterally annul, modify or extend content and scope of collective agreements

The Minister of Labour may require any clause(s) of a collective agreement that is (are) contrary to relevant laws or regulations to be removed or modified (art. 229, Labour Code).

Restrictions on the scope of application and legal effectiveness of concluded collective agreements

Restrictions on the duration, scope of application or coverage of collective agreements

Article 234 of the Labour Code provides that a collective agreement may be applicable for a specified duration or for an indefinite period. Article 234 goes on to state that its duration may not be less than two years or more than five years.

Authorities’ approval of freely concluded collective agreements

A collective agreement is subject to approval by the Minister of Labour (art. 229, Labour Code).

Undermining of the recourse to collective bargaining and his effectiveness

Employers’ discretionary right to refuse to bargain with representative trade unions

There is no provision in the Labour Code establishing a legal mechanism by which a representative trade union can compel an employer to enter into collective bargaining negotiations with it.

Other legal provisions undermining collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement

In the absence or pending the establishment of a collective agreement, the Minister of Labour may, after consulting the National Council of Labour, regulate the working conditions for a profession or for one or several industries by way of Ministerial order (art. 245, Labour Code).

Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors

Other civil servants and public employees

Article 14 of the Labour Code excludes state officials and judges from the scope of its protections.

Right to strike

Right to strike

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to hold a lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security must be satisfied that the dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted for strike action to be lawful (arts. 208 and 215, Labour Code).

Obligation to observe an excessive quorum or to obtain an excessive majority in a ballot to call a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike

Article 213 of the Labour Code requires that the approval of a simple majority of the employees of the workplace or enterprise be obtained for a strike to be lawful.

Absence of an independent body responsible for declaring whether a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is legal or not

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions

Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons)

Solidarity strikes are prohibited for public sector workers (section 39, Act No. 1/015 on the Exercise of Trade Union Rights and the Right to Strike in the Public Service).

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Authorities’ or employers’ power to prevent or end a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike by referring the dispute to arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation

Act No. 1/015 on the Exercise of Trade Union Rights and the Right to Strike in the Public Service provides that a dispute involving public sector workers may be referred to arbitration by a single party to the dispute (section 35, Act No. 1/015).

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions

The strike carried out in breach of the foregoing constitutes gross misconduct justifying termination of the contract from the date of termination of employment without any rights other than wages and vacation pay earned that day (art. 219, Labour Code).

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Undue restrictions for “public servants”

For a strike by public servants to be legal, it has to fulfil a number of conditions, including the following: (1) prior notification must be given specifying the length of the strike (section 30, Act no. 1/015); and (2) it must be called by a group of public servants, whether or not they are unionised, after approval by an absolute majority of the personnel in the public service concerned (section 31, Act no. 1/015).

Absence of compensatory guarantees for categories of workers deprived of the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike

Discretionary determination or excessively long list of “services of public utility” in which a minimum operational service is can be imposed in the event of strikes

Section 217 of the Labour Code provides that a minimum service must be established in all businesses during a period of strike action.

Unreasonable or discretionary (i.e. without negotiation with social partners social partners Unions and employers or their representative organisations. or absence of an independent authority in the event of disagreement) determination of the extent of the “minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework ” to be guaranteed during strikes in public services

Minimum service is defined by article 217 of the Labour Code as being services essential for the safety and maintenance of equipment and facilities of the company, so that, once the strike is over , the work can resume. Article 218 further provides that the designation of workers responsible for the operation of services and activities referred rests with the employer after consultation with the trade union body or, in the absence thereof, with the consulting business.